Flying on my Own
by ChocolateAntelope
Summary: WW. After getting inspiration from a seagull, Link goes on a side quest he makes for himself. Is it possible to complete the mission with only the Wind Waker, the Deku Leaf, a blue potion, his bow and arrows, and the Master Sword? Link will have to see.


Author's note: Sorry if I don't get some stuff like name or place right. I kinda forgot the exact places and names. Also, many thanks to the guest reviewers The Drone and ToonLink. They were the first to ever review my work. :)

At the Forest Haven, Link stood outside, feeling the wind run through his hat and his hair. He was outside on the short grassy ledge that pointed toward a small island. Link nicknamed it Vortex Island because of the wind vortex that constantly circled around the island day and night. He knew that if he wanted to, he could fly to Vortex Island, especially now that he had twice as much magic capacity than the first time he went there, which was when he flew there to get to the Forbidden Woods.

Link felt an urge for adventure tingle throughout his body. He'd been wanting to try something for a very long time. Cutting some nearby grass with the Master Sword, he collected magic until his pack could hold no more. Then he put it away and took out the Wind Waker and the Deku Leaf. He dunked the leaf in his store of magic and waited until the leaf absorbed every last drop of it. He conducted the Wind's Requiem to direct the winds to the island's direction. When the winds started blowing there, Link randomly wondered if it was inconvenient for other sailors that the wind would randomly change direction just to fit his own needs.

Putting away the magic baton, Link held the now glowing Deku Leaf with his left hand so he wouldn't float away yet. Walking up to the very edge of the ledge, he took a deep breath, took one step back, and leapt off the cliff.

Grabbing the other end of the leaf with his right hand, he drifted through the air, suspended by the magic leaf. With the wind at his back, propelling him closer to Vortex Island, he felt quite at peace. _There is no feeling that compares with flying_, Link thought.

In the back of his mind, he knew that with every passing second, the magic was draining out of the leaf in green dust that trailed behind him, and that he was actually slowly sinking lower and lower in the air. But the leaf and the wind was slowing his descent so it sure seemed like he was staying in the same place, neither rising or falling.

The vortex was close. He could hear the whir of the rushing wind that created the vortex. He actually didn't need the vortex to get to the small island, but he didn't mind it. The vortex would help him save magic anyway.

Link was abruptly shot upwards-he hated that feeling in his stomach-by the vortex winds flinging him sky-high. Once she saw his shadow on dry land, he released one end of the Deku Leaf and plunged toward the ground. At the last second, he unsheathed his sword and slashed downward to break his fall. The Wind Temple had given him a lot of practice with breaking his fall, but he still hated having to do that with every big drop.

He landed safely on the isle. There were some sparse sprouts of grass on the lonely island that he promptly cut to reveal some magic hidden in the tall grass. Link poured it in his own pack and then soaked the Deku Leaf in it. When it was fully charged with magic, Link carefully put it away and got his bow and arrows. Facing the direction of the Forbidden Woods, he scanned the entrance of it. As he suspected, there were a couple of Peahats lurking near the entrance, ready to knock out any invaders that dared to enter by air. They were very hard to see. The only reason why Link could see the small orange dots that were Peahats was because they were moving back and forth, left and right. But they were very, very small.

Link took aim, and fired. He watched it disappear into the distance. A moment later, he heard the arrow connect with its target. It pitifully wailed before exploding into a purple dust cloud. _Woohoo! I hit one on the first try!_ Link thought. From the purple and black cloud, something fell from it and plummeted to the waves. It sparkled as it fell and floated on the water's surface.

Link became curious. He got out his sister's telescope, though it wasn't necessary for the mission, and zoomed in on the sparkly thing. His eyes widened when he saw it. It was a golden feather! Too bad he couldn't get it.

Link couldn't bear to watch that treasure disappear, so he quickly closed the telescope into its compact form and returned it back with his other belongings. Remembering his task, he picked up the bow and arrows, and resumed shooting the other Peahat. This second time he wasn't so lucky. His first shot missed completely. His second shot almost hit it, but it raced right past the monster. The third time, he would have gotten it had the Peahat not turned and started flying left. In conclusion, it took twenty-six arrows and a lot of patience to kill that one enemy. Perhaps it wasn't worth it, but Link wasn't going to risk one Peahat sabotaging his mission.

When the deed was done, Link whipped out the Wind Waker and the Deku Leaf again. When the winds sang in the direction of the Forbidden Woods, he sent the baton back in his pack and held the leaf in one hand. He waited for the sound of the roaring winds to come. After much waiting, the vortex came closer to where Link perched on the edge of the circular isle. Waiting in impatience and excitement, he mentally readied himself for the flight to the third stop of his journey. As it came near, he jumped off and flew for the vortex.

He was a little early though. He found that he was not rising up in the air like he'd expected but was slowly sinking. Panicking, he flew toward the vortex in an attempt to gain height.

The vortex obliged. As Link entered the whirlwind, it shot him straight up and puffed up the Deku Leaf. Link cheered in his mind. He could still continue his mission. As he made for the tower of weeds, Link grew excited over the thought of his goal. He couldn't wait to complete it. The trip to the forest was long, very long. But eventually, he arrived at the entrance of the forest.

Link, feeling like he wasted enough time, drank a blue potion that Hollo had concocted for him. He could have just collected some magic from the Forbidden Woods, but he didn't feel like cutting grass and searching for magic while attacking enemies from that monster-infested forest. Besides, Link was thirsty. As the bitter drink slid down his throat, Link coughed out a blue cloud of smokey residue. Link could feel the magic slowly moving in his bloodstream. It made him feel heavy, but now he was like a battery for magic.

Time for his mission.

Link got the idea for his mission from a seagull. At Needle Point Island, he baited a seagull with a Hyoi Pear. As the seagull gulped it up, he gained control over the seagull. It wasn't like the Command Melody, where he _was_ whatever he was controlling. Here, he could control the bird's movement, but not its mind. Anyway, the hapless seagull was being chased by several Kargaroks, and Link, feeling pity for it, tried to maneuver it away from the offending Kargaroks. He was directing it far away from the island when suddenly, inexplicably, the bird seemed to smash into an invisible barrier and was forced to turn around. Right into a Kargarok's talons. Here, Link lost his connection with the bird, although now he could watch with his own eyes the bird flying away in desperation and squawking quite loudly.

So Link's mission was to fly himself and try to make it to another island, or at least to another island's sector without his annoying boat. First he wanted to see if that feat was possible. He also wanted to see if the barrier was there. He was going to travel as far as he could.

From where he was standing, the closest islands were the Cliff Plateau Isles, located directly east. It was relatively close to Forest Haven, or rather, the easternmost island of it, which is why he chose this location to try his mission. As Link commanded the winds to blow east, he got the Deku Leaf out. He took a deep breath.

The moment was here.

Link sprung off the ledge and whooped. The Deku Leaf billowed up above him like a parachute. Link was sustaining the leaf with the magic stored within him, and as the leaf was draining him of it, he felt lighter.

The islands were growing closer and closer. Link was still at a high altitude and hadn't hit a barrier. That shocked and pleased him greatly. He was sure that the seagull he had controlled traveled a shorter distance than him when it hit the magic boundary.

He'd flown long enough now that he knew that if he looked behind him, Forest Haven's islands were way behind him. Up ahead, the islands were close enough that if Link strained, he could make out some faint shapes and colors of the isles. A tree here, some green there, but mostly gray.

He thought about Wili and Obli, the two "Rito" that ran the Bird-Man Contest. They would probably be so proud of him right now.

Then, to his horror, Link began to feel the Deku leaf begin to deflate a little. He was running out of magic. The leaf was slowly beginning to sink a little more and more until finally, it shriveled up into a normal sized leaf. Link began falling.

Link tried to fall forward toward the direction of the islands. He was doing everything he could to get closer to the islands. He whipped out his trusty sword and tried to swing it downward so that the momentum would bring him forward. It actually did carry him forward a little. It also broke his fall as he splashed into the water.

The sea was freezing, so freezing that for a moment Link seemed paralyzed. But in the back of his mind, his subconscious was telling him to journey on. So Link moved his limbs and began swimming for shore. It didn't seem like he was getting closer, but gradually Link could make out more colors and shapes.

Link was swimming as hard as he could, but he was running out of energy. His head was getting closer to submerging and he chocked on sea water. He swallowed more water, and his body was about to fail him. Right when he was about to drown, his tired arm pulled out his mysterious sea chart that seemed to always know where Link was. He looked at the chart, and then he went underwater with a smile on his face.

Link was quite deep in the sector of the Cliff Plateau Isles. He had managed to fly from one sector to another. _Victory!_

Author's note: The summary and the end of the story seems to imply that Link died by drowning. Well in my mind he didn't, but you can interpret it any way you want. Also I hope you liked my explanation of magic in this game (and I hope I didn't accidentally copy someone). As usual, this story was based off a real experience I had when playing WW but I don't remember if I actually made it to another sector or not.


End file.
